Bluegrass Bacchanalia

“Oh the people would come from miles away They’d dance all night ’til the break of day” ~ opening lyrics to “Uncle Pen” by Bill Monroe You hear it at every bluegrass festival and campout: “How late did you stay out jamming last night?” Two o’clock in...

Bluegrass Black Friday

I found myself in a local Best Buy last Wednesday night, tracking down a video that I thought my family might enjoy after Thanksgiving dinner this year. As I got out of the car, I saw tarps running along the side of the building away from the entrance and my first...

Bluegrass Book Club Meets Here

In today’s column, I’m going to do something I’ve never done. I’m going to recommend a book I haven’t yet finished. The book is “Clapton’s Guitar”, by Allen St. John. It was a birthday gift from my sister, and from the title, I expected some paean to some custom...

Bluegrass Camping, with Friends

Every time we stake our tent for a bluegrass camp or festival, it occurs to us that we usually end up picking with the same group of people that we do at home. “Why do we drive all the way to Bakersfield/Grass Valley/Hollister (etc.) to play with the same group of...